Purse hook and bracelet

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a combination purse hook and bracelet. The bracelet extends more than 360 degrees around a wearer&#39;s wrist, and includes overlapping end portions. The bracelet opens in a clam-shell fashion via a hinge allowing for an opening beyond a 270 degree included angle in use as a purse hook. This enables a relatively light weight bracelet construction to support a relatively heavy purse by aligning the supported load with the location of support.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of earlier priority based upon the filing of a design application, Ser. No. 29/324,758, filed on Sep. 19, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of jewelry in the form of a bracelet that can also function as a purse hook.

2. Background

An essential part of women's' personal belongings is the purse. In whatever form it takes, depending on styling trends, the purse has been and will likely always be a part of their overall accessory package. Many issues abound when considering a purse, i.e., size, short/long straps, appearance versus utility, etc. Regardless of form, however, the purse is generally an object of pride and cannot be mis-placed inasmuch as too many items of value are usually deposited therein. When a purse is not directly needed for access, it must none-the-less be tracked and watched. In some social settings this is difficult because of the shear number and variety of attendees at an event or participating in a gathering. As a result, purses are slung over chairs, coat hooks, placed beneath chairs, and sometimes, left behind.

A ready, secure, temporary purse storage solution is needed. Some past offerings along these lines include purse hooks. These are generally decorative and hang on a purse handle or strap when un-used and, when necessary, can hang a purse from a chair back, table edge, etc. Examples of known purse hooks include: D 429,899; and, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,473,086; 3,860,210; and, 4,210,302. Some purse hooks are decorative to the extent they may be considered as jewelry adapted for adorning a purse.

In view of past solutions, the current invention is especially adapted to function as a purse hook and/or to function as jewelry to be worn on a person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention advantageously fills the aforementioned deficiencies by providing a combination purse hook and bracelet in a single item. The purse hook herein described is stylish in construction and execution, but also incorporates structural features that especially adapt what appears to be an attractive bracelet for use as a purse hook.

The bracelet firstly includes overlapping end elements to stylishly extend the style and available space for purse matching/complementing adornment, but also to provide additional purchase on a table edge, chair back, etc., and to also provide greater arc length to engage an under hung purse strap. Next, the underside of the table edge/chair back engaging end element includes a friction enhancing element to enhance stability on the table edge, etc., and to prevent the edges of the purse hook itself from marring the underlying surface.

In addition to the foregoing features, the bracelet hinge is preferably oriented so as to be oblique with respect to the bracelet end elements. This oblique construction enables a skew opening to the respective end elements. This skew allows for linked end element interaction to maintain closure when used as a bracelet, and also enables a more unobstructed access to both the table edge, on the one end, and the purse hanging end element on the other end

An additional feature is the hinge opening to an included angle exceeding 270 degrees when fully opened and functioning as a purse hook. The greater than 270 degree opening enables the load supplied by the purse straps to center directly beneath the friction element and maintain the friction element in flat full contact with a supporting surface.

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are intended to be read in conjunction with both this summary, the detailed description and any preferred and/or particular embodiments specifically discussed or otherwise disclosed. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of illustration only and so that this disclosure will be thorough, complete and will fully convey the full scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: is a perspective view of a combination purse hook and bracelet according to the present invention.

FIG. 2: is an end view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3: is a side view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4: is a top view of the device of FIG. 1 showing additional ornamentation.

FIG. 5: is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the invention in use engaging a purse on a table edge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the purse hook/bracelet 10. The bracelet 10 includes overlapping end elements 12 shown here in a matched interacting complementary shape formation. This configuration provides an encircling wrap exceeding 360 degrees when the device 10 is worn as a bracelet. The respective end elements 12 are similarly shaped (in the embodiment shown, one is a duplicate of the other) and are linked together by a preferably obliquely oriented hinge 14 equipped with spring 16 urging the end elements 12 into a mating bracelet formation. The preferred oblique (non-orthogonal) orientation, of the hinge axis (note FIG. 5) from the axes of the respective end elements enables the respective end elements 12 to have matched complementary shapes such that, when opened, the respective end elements move apart axially and laterally simultaneously. This movement is as shown by the movement arrows depicted in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5. This opening action provides lateral spacing and rotated orientation from end element to end element when the bracelet is fully opened and is functioning as a purse hook. This laterally spaced and rotated orientation allows for easier access both to the table edge/chair back, etc., and the lower purse strap hanging hook. The hinge 14 may be orthogonal to the respective end elements, but the lateral and rotational movement would not occur during the opening and use phase.

The end element 12 may include a friction pad 15 for engaging a table end, or other support for the purse hook. The friction pad can be leather, rubber, elastomer, etc., and functions to protect the supporting surface 20 from marring and also stabilizes the hanging purse and secures the purse hook from slipping from the edge when jostled. Such jostling may occur when access to the purse is being sought during and after social gatherings, for cell phone access, wallet, eye glasses, etc. The purse user using the purse hook 10 herein can rely on the purse hook remaining hooked onto the polished table top, counter surface, glass edge, or other support without slipping off inadvertently. The friction element 15 may take the form of an overall coating or decorative dip on the respective end elements if desired.

The respective end elements 12 may also include optional shallow channels 11 therein for affixing purse or outfit matching designs, fabric swatches, or other adornment. This channel 11 itself may include a decorative texturing, coloration, etc. to provide additional spectacle as a bracelet or jewelry item. The device 10 may be worn as a personal adornment separate and apart from any purse hook function and may be simply looped onto a purse strap as an adornment as well.

As shown, the obliquely oriented hinge 14 opens, see FIG. 5, to an extent beyond a 270 degree included angle 23 between the linked end elements 12, which enables the positioning of the purse 22 strap directly beneath the friction pad and support surface contacting portion of the opposed end element 12 when the device 10 is used as a purse hook. This linear orientation between the supported load, hung onto the lower end element 12, and the friction pad 15 when in use, stabilizes the hung purse but also presents the friction pad in a flat and un-tipped non-marring orientation to the supporting surface 20. In addition, the overlapping end elements 12 provide additional length to the respective end elements (exceeding 180 degrees of arc sweep respectively for each end element) and, as shown in FIG. 5, provide this additional arc length for, on the one hand, engaging the purse strap on the lower oriented extended end element 12, and on the other hand, engaging the table edge 20 (or other support) with the other end element 12 (equipped with friction pad 15).

While the present invention has been described above in terms of specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims. It is indeed intended that the scope of the invention should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings. 

1. A purse hook and bracelet combination, comprising: a pair of arced elements linked one to the other by a hinge thereby defining a pair of free ends and a pair of linked ends, such that when said free ends are positioned proximately, said pair of arced elements overlap end to end and form a wearable bracelet with a total wrap exceeding 360 degrees around a wearer's limb, and wherein said hinge, when fully open, orients said linked ends at an included angle between said linked ends exceeding 270 degrees.
 2. A purse hook and bracelet as in claim 1, further comprising: a friction pad associated with at least one of said free ends.
 3. A purse hook and bracelet as in claim 1, further comprising: a shallow channel on outward exposed surfaces of said arced elements.
 4. A purse hook as in claim 1, wherein: said hinge is oriented at an oblique angle with respect to respective axes of said arced elements, such that when opened, said arced element free ends move apart both laterally and rotate axially one with respect to the other.
 5. A purse hook as in claim 4, further comprising: a friction pad associated with at least one of said free ends.
 6. A purse hook as in claim 5, further comprising: a shallow channel on outward exposed surfaces of said arced elements. 